Fun Family Weekend

Bill had a meeting in Denver on Saturday, so we decided at the last minute to join him and make a fun weekend trip out of it. We drove up on our own because Bill had to put in his time as a sponsor with the middle school students. Our fun weekend started on Friday at Chuck E. Cheese. Jamie loves "playing" the games, whether he's really playing them or not. He really likes the racing games with motorcycles or ATV's or race cars.

This monster truck really rocked and scared Jamie a little. He wanted out before the ride was over. So, although he's into the speed machines...when the going gets tough, he still wants his mama.

On Saturday, while Bill was attending his meetings with middle schoolers, we met friends, Justin and Ryan (from Alamosa who also happened to be in Denver for the weekend) at the Children's Museum. They had fun dressing up as firefighters,

playing with trains,

dressing up as ants and digging around in tunnels,

painting,

and playing in the playground.

We went back to the hotel and took naps. When Bill's meetings were over, he joined us and he & Jamie went swimming for an hour or so while I checked out the Colorado Mills Shopping Mall. Later, we went back to the mall and ate dinner. We ended the night at Cold Stone Creamery.

On Sunday, we went to the Denver Zoo. It was a FREE day and lots of people were there to enjoy the nice weather and spend quality time outdoors. We had to park about a mile away and walk but, the zoo is big enough that even with the large crowd, it wasn't uncomfortable. Bill & I studied the zoo map as we entered the park and found where the train was. We knew that once Jamie got to the train, our day at the zoo would be over. So, we were able to maneuver our path such that we saw most of the attractions before we got to the train.

Superhero Halloween

Jamie's Preschool celebrated Halloween with a parade and trick-or-treating to many of the Adams State College faculty offices. We met in his classroom for a quick breakfast snack and a few games before lining up and heading across campus. Jamie was chosen to be the "line-leader" for the parade and he was so excited. He dressed up as Batman and his friend, Parker, dressed up as Superman. Zachary was dressed as Dash (Incredibles) so we had all of the superheroes covered.

First, we walked past the student housing to the Computer Services building. Then we crossed First Street and went to Richardson Hall. We trick-or-treated on all three floors!

Next, we paraded to the Education and Social Studies Building and two more floors of trick-or-treating. By this point, we had been out walking with these preschoolers for over an hour. I was tired and the kids were dragging. We took a little rest stop before going back to the classroom.

Back in the classroom, it was party time. We had popcorn balls and juice...just enough sugar to jump start the preschoolers. They played a raucous game of musical chairs and re-enacted "The Three Little Pigs". When the sugar high was at it's peak, the kids were sent home with their parents. (Those teachers are not stupid!)

Jamie & Parker giving us their best "superhero" pose!!


Hey, what can I say???? This IS my costume!

Bill was challenged by his middle school students to shave his head into a mohawk. He cut the sleeves out of an old T-shirt, put on some temporary tatoos and wore a clip-on earring to complete the "bad-ass dude" look.

Parker came to our house after school to play and then afterwards, we went to the Tetwiler's house to go trick-or-treating with Megan, April & Heather.

Jamie with April & Heather
(I still can't tell them apart so I don't know which one is which.)

Fall Soccer League

Due to the transition of youth soccer from AYSO to Parks & Recreation, a special fall league was held during the month of October. Jamie was on a different team with a different coach, although two of his teammates from the summer season were also on this team. Jamie was excited to play soccer again even though October is NOT a good time to play outdoor soccer in Alamosa. Mostly, Jamie was excited because he got a new jersey to add to his rapidly growing collection!


Team Photo: Back row (L-R) , Katie, Alana, Hunter
Middle Row (L-R) Diego, Alonzo, Devon
Front Row (L-R) Jamie, Paul, Danielle
not pictured: Elijah
Coach: Rhonda DeLaCerda

Katie and Jamie

(Katie ALWAYS has this sweet smile! And, she's a tough soccer player too.. you go girl!)

Spencer and Jamie

(Spencer was on a different team but they had fun when their teams played each other.)

Jamie playing soccer...it's ALL good!

The Colors of Fall

Autumn is absolutely the best time of year in the San Luis Valley.

We took advantage of "Church Days" (and half price fares) to ride the SLV & RG train through the mountains over La Veta Pass. The aspen colors were at their peak and it was truly spectacular! I took over 140 photos because each turn was even more beautiful than the last. I have lived in this area for most of my life and have seen my share of "Fall Colors" but nothing in my memory compares to the beauty we experienced on this day in the San Luis Valley.

Jamie was excited to ride the train. His friends, Brycen & Ethan, were also on board.


It is difficult to explain just how awesome these colors were! The photos are nice but are not truly representative of the bright, bold color!!



WOW!!!

2nd Day of School

Jamie was ready to head to school for his second day and wondered why I didn't want to take another photo. So, I had to take one! Poor guy, he's got to be one of the most photographed kids in the world!

1st Day of School

Jamie looks like such a big boy with his backpack...ready for his first day of school!

Jamie was so excited to start preschool. When we went last spring to register, he saw the classroom and said that he would like "going to the big boys school". He had been going to a daycare/preschool and had been experiencing frustration with the younger kids and has declared several times, "I don't like babies!" After I told him that there would only be other four-year-olds at preschool (no "babies"), he was even more thrilled.


Jamie's school is called Adams State College preschool and his teachers are Ms. Lynn and Ms. Terri. He has school Monday through Thursday mornings. One of his best friends, Parker, is in his class and another friend, Roman, is at the same preschool but is in the other class. Ashley goes to the afternoon session.


Jamie & Parker


Jamie settling in on his first day of school and coloring with markers.


Jamie's classroom

I was expecting Jamie to be a little clingy when we dropped him of for his first day of school. He wasn't. He went in and found the table where he was supposed to sit and settled right in. He didn't seem to care if we were there or not. Guess he was ready to spread his wings a little and be a big boy.

Bill's new TOY

Soccer

TEAM PHOTO
Back row L-R Katie, Enrique, Chloe, Ethan, Gage
Front row L-R Jamie, Kaylee, Cortez, Devon, Josh
Coaches: Liz Meyer & Holly Bolt